STARKVILLE — Missouri’s Ish Witter rushed for a 1-yard score in the third quarter of a win against South Carolina on Oct. 3. Since that time, the Tigers have gone 13 quarters without finding the end zone.

They’ve scored 12 points and piled up three losses.

“The first thing we knew (our defense) would talk about is the run without touchdowns,” MSU defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. “We showed them what we called 14 touchdowns that they had scored, that on the chalkboard the offense was behind the defense.”

The first full-game of the touchdown drought began against Florida. On the first play of the game, Missouri wide receiver Wesley Leftwich broke free behind the defense. He caught the ball, had green grass in front of him, but stepped out of bounds.

Two plays later, wide receiver J’Mon Moore stepped out of bounds before diving into the end zone.

“We know for us to have any type of success, we can’t let those things happen because the odds are their level of execution will improve,” Diaz said.

Missouri averaged 20.7 points per game through the first four games of the season under the guidance of quarterback Maty Mauk. A suspension then forced the Tigers to turn to freshman Drew Lock under center. He guided Mizzou to 24 points against South Carolina, but four points per game since.

During last week’s bye, Missouri cleared Mauk to return to football activities, but on Sunday, the team announced the quarterback was suspended for the remainder of the season.

Through it all, Mississippi State’s game plan remained unchanged.

“They’ve been playing (Lock) for a couple weeks now,” MSU coach Dan Mullen sad. “They’re going to run their system. They’re going to do what they do. It’s not like they’ve completely changed who they are.”

The main concern for Mississippi State’s defense is always stopping the run. Diaz said there are only a few specific situations where he would alter his preparations due to a quarterback: if the backup changed the dynamic of the offense in terms of pocket passing or scrambling; or if a quarterback displayed superior skills in a particular aspect.

Lock offers neither.

Mississippi State’s focus Thursday will be behind Lock on the running backs, who scored Missouri's last touchdown.

"In college football in this day and age, the run game is still the quarterback’s best friend," Diaz said. "You’ve heard it a million times. It doesn’t make it untrue. You still try to make a team one-dimensional."